Who among us who couldn’t do with a sleepwear upgrade? This bit of real talk is one of the many reasons Lunya, specializing in sleepwear for the modern woman, has been a runaway success since launching in 2014. “I had what I call ‘the moment in the mirror’ just after I had my second child and saw myself in my husband’s boxers and oversized t shirt and thought to myself this is not who I am,” says founder and CEO Ashley Merrill. “I went out to upgrade my sleepwear game and couldn’t find anything on the market for the modern woman — enter Lunya.” Like the other three locations, all of which are dubbed ‘The Bedroom,’ when it came to designing the brand’s newest store in Brooklyn, Ashley wanted to evoke an entire lifestyle experience and partnered up with designer Rosie Case. Featuring a timeless palette of high-contrast neutrals and carefully curated furnishings (including many Chairish finds), the result is cooly chic and calming. We asked Ashley to give us the rundown on designing the new space, how vintage fits into the Lunya lifestyle, and what you’re likely to find on her nightstand.
How does the design of the Brooklyn space reflect the ethos of Lunya as a brand?
Lunya was founded to serve the modern woman through confidently comfortable sleepwear and improve her life through product, experience, and example. Our Bedrooms build into the experience piece. Each Bedroom, influenced by its own unique design, serves as an IRL Pinterest board giving the modern woman inspiration for her own home. And although each Bedroom we open has a different design influence, there will always be a minimalist through line that ties them together.
What three adjectives would you use to describe the new space?
Postmodern, minimalist, neutral.
What were some of your design points of inspiration when outfitting the Brooklyn space?
For this space in particular, the old building served as a lot of the inspiration for the design. It has beautiful architectural notes like plaster columns and the kind of paint patina that faux artists everywhere aspire to. These elements ultimately inspired my direction for the rest of the design.
Tell us about the color palette you chose and what drove the decision to largely use neutrals.
Neutrals are enduring, timeless, and flexible so they allow the environment around them to evolve, which is great for a home where people are always evolving and might want to have color show up in easily changeable accessories like art, pillows, or accessories. Neutrals are also great for a retail environment where the clothing colors, shapes, and layouts are always changing.
Why did you choose to use a lot of vintage pieces for the space?
Vintage allows for individuality and uniqueness, but also the ability to reference attributes of times past. Mid-Century for example highlights a period from 1935-1965 where famous architects and designers tried to bring modernism to post-war America. Designers like Knoll, Le Corbusier, and Poul Kjaerholm referenced Scandinavian and Brazilian design and reinterpreted it in a timeless way for the changing world. Bringing pieces of this into a modern day setting helps give depth and history to the Bedroom narrative.
What do you love about sourcing furniture and decor on Chairish?
I love Chairish because of the reasonable prices, easy-to-use bidding system, and great content that changes often.
Among the pieces you sourced from Chairish, which is your favorite and why?
I really love the coffee table. The hard glass in a fluid form is always such a cool contrast.
How do you think the design of a bedroom impacts the quality of life (and sleep!) in that space?
I believe in having a space that fits you to go home to and recharge. I’ve been able to build this for myself when I was just starting out and Craigslist hunting, and it has evolved over the years, but it’s allowed my home to be a place of personal expression. A well-designed home can let you be your best and most authentic self during your off-hours.
Tell us about some of your personal nightstand must-haves and bedtime rituals.
While it’s probably not the best practice, you can find my phone on my nightstand. Before bed (and some wee hours of the night) is usually the only downtime I have to get emails done because my days are usually stacked with meetings and mom duty. Just ask my team!
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Photos Courtesy of Lunya
